


A Grossly Cute Domestic Life

by daisybrien



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alphynecentric, Comfort Reading, Cuddling & Snuggling, Domestic, Domestic Fluff, F/F, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Pacifist Route, Post-Game, Post-Pacifist Route, Reading Aloud, Some Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-10
Updated: 2015-12-10
Packaged: 2018-05-06 01:16:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5397419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daisybrien/pseuds/daisybrien
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Undyne finds some of Alphys' old journals.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Grossly Cute Domestic Life

**Author's Note:**

> \- Yes, she scrawls her name in the margin of her notes!  
> \- She names programming variables after her!  
> \- She even writes stories of them together...  
> \- Sharing a domestic life!

The room is surprisingly quiet when Undyne walks in, nothing but the soft murmur of the television and the buzzing of one of the heaters in the corner. At first, she does nothing more than peek in, resisting the urge to give into her usual brashness and rush in, eyes scanning the room before they stop at the back of Alphys’ head. A smile blooms across her face, her palms sweaty against the book clasped tightly in her hands as she slowly creeps in.

It is stuffy and dark, but still peaceful; she always found herself falling asleep in that room, its warmth and quiet enough to lull her into a nap. She almost feels bad for what she is about to do – Alphys is in her element now, eyes glued to the screen, gaping and jittery in her passion - but she marches forward anyway, her eager feet creaking loudly on the floorboards as she gives up all form of subtleness in her frivolity.

She leaps onto the sofa, Alphys uttering a startled squeal at the sudden impact. It’s followed by a giggle, the two of them laughing before Undyne leans in, the other girl growing flustered and silent as she gets closer. She presses her lips to Alphys’ neck mischievously, making sure to be gentle with her teeth as she watches her cheeks grow red. Her nails brush against the worn leather of the journal in her hands, its corners digging into both their sides painfully as she presses in.

Undyne lets out a hearty laugh, drawing out her words. “Guess what I just found.”

She gets nothing but a small choking sound in response, the stuttering of nervous words nothing more than a squeak on the tip of Alphys’ anxious tongue. She scoots away, Undyne almost flopping forward as she loses the support to get a look at her, speech slowly growing more coherent.

“D-don’t do that, Undyne,” she whines. She turns back to the screen, and Undyne takes the opportunity to snuggle in closer to her, unwrapping her cocoon of blankets and wiggling in, wrapping an arm around Alphys’ shoulders. Undyne smirks, watching knowingly at the girl growing more flustered in her arms. “You know I don’t like it when you sneak up on me.”

“You don’t have to be so self-conscious about it,” Undyne says. “I think it’s cute when you blush like that.” She pecks Alphys’ head with a chaste kiss, slipping across her. She turns around as she does so, falling back first and sprawled across Alphys’ lap, smiling up at her. 

Undyne pulls the little book up to her chest, arms wrapping around it protectively, almost sentimentally as she stares up at Alphys.

She peeps down at her through the flickering light of the television screen, flashing colours lining the sharp contours of her face. “Are you going to tell me what you found?” Alphys asks. In the dim, she has to squint, her brow furrowing, tilting her head to catch the details of the journal’s cover. 

Undyne clicks her teeth, grinning up at her as she moves her arms to cover it fully. “Nope,” she quips. “You have to guess.”

“Are you serious,” Alphys groans. Her head falls back on the sofa cushion in frustration, grumbling melodramatically as she turns back down to look at her. “I’m trying to watch anime here.”

“Come on,” Undyne presses.

“No,” Alphys responds dryly. She turns her face towards the screen away, her face stoic, looking away at Undyne pointedly.

“Man,” Undyne sighs, “you’re no fun, you know that? What happened to a little playfulness?” She lifts one hand up, reaching under Alphys’ chin, her thumb and forefinger bordering each side of her long face. She squeezes squishy cheeks between them softly, smirking as she watches Alphys’ brow furrow in annoyance, her lips puffing out comically in stark contrast to the rest of the hard lines of her stoic, irritated face.

Something shifts in her face, an inkling of wit in the corner of her eye that Undyne knows all too well – the same spark when she runs off on another tangent, when she is deep into work after a new idea has bloomed in what was her previously muddied brain. The sudden change of expression catches Undyne off guard, puzzling enough that she doesn’t realize Alphys has snatched the journal from her hand with a wheezing giggle of triumph until she feels its leather slip from under her sharp nails. 

“Oh, you little-!“ Undyne growls, her arms reaching out for it as Alphys dangles it above her. Alphys shifts under her, her laughing turning into screaming protests as Undyne swats at her; Alphys moves across the sofa, her legs slipping from under Undyne’s back, making her topple to the ground with a shrill shriek.

Undyne grunts against the carpet, propping herself up on her arms, body awkwardly trapped between the foot of the couch and the coffee table. She is comforted when she sees Alphys sprawled across the couch in a state no better that hers, half of her hanging off its ledge, the other trying to haul herself up and free herself from the blankets tangled around her. 

“D-damn it, Undyne!” Alphys cries. There is laughter in her voice, sweet and soft behind the sharpness of her forced annoyance. Her head peeks up over her stomach, glasses askew and face flush and cold in her dishevelment; she meets Undyne’s stare from her spot on the couch, and a smile begins to bubble underneath the thin line of her lips and stern set of her face, unable to feign seriousness over their antics.

She snorts, Undyne joining in as she hoists herself back onto the sofa again. The book lies at Alphys’ feet, papers folded and crumbled as it sits open with its pages face down, the crude doodles on its worn cover spread open wide for the world to see. It is almost forgotten as their energy subsides, Undyne slowly inches her way over her, aching to see the blush of her cheeks grow red and hear the adorable stammer of her voice as she grows closer. But it only takes one glance from the corner of her eye for Alphys to recognize it, gasping, her hands moving to cover her mouth.

“Oh-oh my god!” she says, eyes wide in alarm. She sits up, pushing Undyne against the backrest as she leans over to grab it. Her hands reach out for it tentatively, almost lovingly, holding it as if it would break at the slightest touch. She stares down at it in a strange awe, brows furrowed as her fingertips run over the cover mawkish wonder, the smallest of smiles gracing her face. Undyne watches the peculiarity of it, Alphys’ tenderness strangely endearing.

The moment is gone as fast and as strange as it arrived; the calm on Alphys’ face snaps to panic, her trembling hands suddenly gripping the book with a wild ferocity. She draws it to her chest, clutching it desperately, secretively, her body curling around it. She turns to face the screen, her eyes boring holes into the ground.

“Wh-where did y-you find this?” she asks. She unfolds herself slightly, looking down at it wistfully. But there is panic in her tone, her voice thick and shaky, and Undyne thinks she might be on the verge of tears.

“I found it in one of the boxes in your room,” Undyne says. “Our room, I mean,” she corrects herself, the tiniest flutter of joy flitting in her stomach as she reminds herself of their newly shared room, shared house- shared life. She pushes it down when she sees the hurt on Alphys’ face; now is not the time to reflect on their grossly cute domestic life.

“Y-you went through my s-s-stuff?” Alphys asks. Hurt bleeds from each word.

“I didn’t mean to!” Undyne replies, raising her arms defensively. “I was trying to find some of my plastic spearheads so I could practice and found some of your old books searching for them. I told you we should have labeled what was in the boxes when we moved!”

“You could have just put it back,” Alphys muses quietly. Her eyes grow wide suddenly, and she turns to Undyne, accusingly. “Did you read any of it?”

“Of course not! I mean, not really-“ Undyne stammers. She rushes through her words, shame rising hot in her cheeks as she tries to defend herself. “I only skimmed through it, okay? A few things caught my interest.”

“Why would you do that?” Alphys cries. Her voice wobbles, thick with tears. She curls into herself again, turning away from Undyne dejectedly.

“I didn’t-“ Undyne starts. She reaches one hand out tentatively, brushing Alphys’ shoulder. She grasps it gently, just slightly pulling it towards her to encourage her to turn back around. It is not forceful, only just persuasive; it is not a demand but a question, pleading for her openness, asking to understand and forgive, and it is just enough that she grants Undyne a simple glare over her shoulder. 

“I’m sorry,” Undyne mumbles. “I didn’t think. I’m sorry.”

“This is practically my diary!” Alphys cries, tongue fumbling over each letter. Still, she turns back again, and Undyne feels the slightest glimmer of hope at the chance of forgiveness. “How’d you feel if I went through your stuff?”

“I wouldn’t mind.”

“Me,” Alphys presses, “going through your diary?”

“Well, if I had one-“

“How would you know you would want me to look through it then?” Alphys yells. Her arms flail out, waving erratically over her head. The journal flops above her, pages fluttering and askew. “How would you know what kind of private stuff is in there? How would you know how you would feel at having someone else read that kind of personal stuff? Without your permission!”

“I-I’m sorry!” Undyne exclaims. “I wouldn’t know, alright? I did a dumb thing! I did a really dumb thing, because I never think before I act.” She sighs, catching her breath; she swallows once, choking down the humiliation that threatens to make her voice rise, and she feels a hard lump in the pit of her throat that stings as strongly as the heat in her cheeks and the burning in the back of her eyes. 

“I did a really stupid thing and I didn’t think of how it would hurt you,” she continues. She bows her head, nails picking at the threads in the couch cushions. “I should’ve been more respectful. More considerate. 

“It just caught my eye, seeing your doodles and stories all over it,” she grins slightly to herself, only to stifle it; she doesn’t deserve to smile knowing what she did. “It’s got all your passion in it, and my curiosity got the better of me, and I know it isn’t an excuse for what I did, because I should have reminded myself not to do something so ridiculous in the first place.”

Undyne chews on her lip, wincing as each sharp point finds its own uneasy place in its soft flesh, the tingle of blood’s metallic taste just prickling on her tongue as she runs her bottom lip between her teeth. The two of them sit in silence, the awkwardness palpable between them, the impossible distance separating the two tangible enough that if she reaches out now, she might be able to feel it, a veil dividing them that she suddenly finds herself too fearful to break open again; her gut twists furiously, her brain fuzzy, her hand shaking as if holding her pen over the same wrinkled paper of the letter she had written and rewritten during their days in the underground, a constant stuttering and uncertainty keeping her sputtering pen from scrawling the proper words, never seeming to find the ones she thought deserving of Alphys’ eyes and heart.

There is a muffled explosion, a flurry of colours bursting out of the television screen, casting muted hues and stark, edged shadows across room. It’s muted chaos mingles with the thoughts bouncing in Undyne’s brain, its existence almost empathetic of it, mimicking the turmoil boiling in her gut, her head, under her skin, as loud as guilt yet too quiet to even be acknowledged through the din.

Alphys shifts, turning herself to face the television, her head titling just slightly towards Undyne in unspoken acknowledgement. Bright light glints on the metal frame of her glasses like stars, reflecting off its shining lenses, the glare severe enough to hide the beady, teary eyes underneath. 

“You should have,” Alphys croaks. There’s a pause, and Undyne looks to her from under her fringe; Alphys waits expectantly, her body stiff, and Undyne only realizes that she was waiting for her to say something before she decides to take the lead again, each muscle in her body rising in time with a deep shaky breath.

“H-how m-much of it d-did you read?” Alphys asks tentatively. The couch shifts slightly as she turns towards Undyne again; she is still despondent, her body hunched over, the wrinkles of her furrowed brow still etched in hurt, arms wrapped around the weathered book like a child squeezing their teddy bear, but Undyne can’t help but feel the rock in her stomach disappear at seeing her willing to turn back to talk to her.

“Not a lot,” Undyne muses, “I only skimmed through it, it was mostly the drawings that caught my attention a lot, I like the way you draw the eyes all big and sparkly-“

“Yeah, I know,” Alphys interrupts. Her tone is rushed, almost frantic, but there is just the smallest glimmer of humility at her praise. “But what did you read?”

“Not much!” Undyne repeats. One hand moves to rub the back of her neck. “There was a lot of long rambling stuff that I skipped over entirely, and a lot of science-y words I couldn’t even understand, along with some fanfiction, I think?” She laughs to herself then, pressing her chapped lips together when Alphys glares at her to stifle it. 

“That’s it?” Alphys asks uncertainly. 

“Well, there was some other stuff-“

“This is start to sound like a lot more than ‘not much’ to me,” Alphys grumbles. She brings her knees up to her chest, resting her chin on top of them. 

“I don’t have to tell you all of it.”

“Yes you do,” she presses. “I want to know what you found out. I have a right.”

“Alright,” Undyne groans, one hand reaching up to pinch the bridge of her nose. She moves so she is sitting forward on the couch, letting her head fall back in exasperation.

“Don’t ‘alright’ me!” Alphys cries. Despite the severity of her tone, Undyne can’t help but smile at the playfulness of it; she can see forgiveness on the horizon. “Y-you’re the one who got yourself into this mess!”

“I didn’t mean it like that!” Undyne cries back, struggling to hide the laughter in her tone. “I’m sorry, okay?”

“You better be,” Alphys snarks. “Now what else did you read.”

“I told you, not that much,” Undyne ponders. “There were a few poetry verses, things like that.”

“Oh god,” Alphys groans. She buries her face into her knees, the high pitch of her voice muffled by her pajamas.

“Hey, a lot of it is actually pretty good,” Undyne says. She isn’t lying; the scribbly letters flash in her mind; sometimes embellished with shaking swirls and crafty, dizzying lines, the words not only a literal but visual piece of art, sometimes with drawings and shapes twisting and winding their way between the lines like vines growing around an ornate castle, and the common furious scrawl of lead on scribbling the wrong words or lines off the page. Her heart sinks a little at the thought of one, the words written with a hand too shaky to attempt to make them legible, the paper stained with what she can’t even hope weren’t tears, hard, violent lines marring the page and bordering the words ‘abyss’ like a vice. “It’s all, um, really passionate. And uh, contemplative.”

“Yeah,” Alphys says on a breath. “But it’s all probably super embarrassing. Old, too. L-like when we were still in the underground and I was a hopeless nerd.”

“You’re still a nerd now,” Undyne laughs. “But not a hopeless one, I’m sure. You never were.” Alphys lifts her head up from her lap to look at her, and she matches her grin. She shifts over on the couch a little, curling by Undyne’s shoulder and lifting one strong arm around her. 

Undyne smiles to herself, her head lolling to the side, coming to rest on Alphys’. “Am I forgiven?”

“Maybe,” Alphys responds. “I have to think about it. And make sure you don’t intentionally snoop through my stuff again.”

“Good enough for me,” Undyne huffs. She leans in closer, the arm wrapped around her girlfriend growing tighter as they curl into a ball of warmth together. Alphys raises the volume again, explosions and Japanese blaring from the screen’s speakers; it has no use, the subtitles flashing across the screen faster than Undyne’s tired eyes can follow along, obscured by action lines and animated debris as they flit obnoxiously behind it, shapes and words blurring into one. 

Her mind wanders from the screen, eyes looking down to Alphys snuggled into the nook of her hip, dedicating her utmost attention to the television with her mouth agape and eyes wide. She doesn’t want to bother her, especially when she is so intent on the action that it leaves her shaking just slightly in her excitement, but there is more that Undyne has to say.

“You know,” Undyne muses, her words slurred slowly through a tired, bemused drawl. Alphys jolts in her spot; she moves her head up to look at Undyne confused, her snout bumping into her chin, breaking their calm little bundle of warmth. “There was something I read that I forgot to mention.”

“I’m going to have to think a little harder on that apology.”

“You said you wanted me to tell you everything.”

“Yeah,” Alphys says, “but not when it’s convenient for you!”

“Well, I thought it would be better not to wait so long,” Undyne says. “We already ended up off track, I didn’t want to drag it on.”

Alphys sighs, tucking her chin in between her knees again; the top edge of her journal lies snug beneath the soft skin of her neck, hidden in the maze of her knotted limbs. “What other humiliating things did you find, then?”

“Don’t be like that,” Undyne moans, leaning farther onto Alphys, trying to milk out all the affection she can.

“Just tell me,” Alphys deadpans.

“Well,” Undyne starts, the brashness of her voice breaking, light and tentative as she broaches the subject. “There was one story about me.”

Alphys stiffens beside her, muscles rigid. When she turns her head to look at Undyne, her movements are slow and jerky, like old machinery. “W-what?”

“I mean there was a couple,” Undyne muses. “But I only just skimmed through one!”

“W-wait, you m-mean like a journal entry, right?” Alphys stutters. Undyne can feel her shaking, her skin growing red with embarrassed heat. “W-w-was it a journal?”

“No,” Undyne says. She rubs the back of her neck, her fingers twisting through the few wisps of hair at her nape that have fallen from her ponytail. “It was a story about the two of us.” 

She tries to hide her own amusement for the sake of Alphys’ dignity, biting down her grin as she watches Alphys freeze up. It’s the butterflies in her stomach she can’t help, heat rising up her neck, eyes darting around the room, looking for anything to look at, anything but Alphys’ bewildered, big, beautiful eyes. She is becoming her own puddle of humiliation, the thought of seeing little lopsided hearts and spears scribbled out beside her name making her want to disappear, melt into the couch cushions as surely as Alphys would like to at the idea of having drawn them out in the first place.

“Oh god,” Alphys squeaks, tiny and terrified. She buries her face into knees again, shaking her head furiously. “Oh god, I’m so sorry!” Her cry is surprisingly loud, muffled through her pants, leaving Undyne sitting helplessly beside her.

“Alphys,” Undyne chuckles, reaching out to her, “you don’t need to apologize-!”

“It must have been so stupid!” she wails, her words barely coherent. “I should never have written stuff like that about the two of us, it’s all so awkward now, you probably think I’m such a weirdo!”

“Alphys!” Undyne cries. Her chest starts to rattle with laughter, her face stretching into a grin as she reaches out for her. She presses one hand to her trembling back, using the other to pry Alphys’ chin from her knees to look at her. “I said you don’t need to apologize!”

“Yes I do!” Alphys yells. Her arms flail out, head snapping up hard enough that her glasses fly off, her hands reaching out wildly to grab them before they bounce to the floor. “I was w-w-worried that’s what you were going to find, a-and you did, and you’re probably super grossed out by it?” The last sentence comes out as a question, as if the possibility of her writing about the two of them not utterly repulsing Undyne were only just dawning on her, voice growing weaker in resolve as she continues. Her teary eyes look up to Undyne, searching her face for her answer.

“You’re talking to the person who fished through a literal garbage dump with you for anime trash, multiple times,” Undyne snorts. “I know something gross when I see it, and I personally don’t think a little lovesick writer’s journal entry cuts my standards for it.”

“You don’t have to say it like that,” Alphys pouts.

“Like what?”

“Like I’m a lovesick, obsessed schoolgirl or something.”

“I don’t know,” Undyne teases. She leans in pressing her face to Alphys’ cheek, making her squeak in protest. “There were a lot of hearts scribbled into the margins.”

“Stop it,” Alphys sniffs. She curls into herself, turning her face away. When Undyne presses in farther, laughter bubbling from her throat, Alphys shifts on the sofa, making her way to the farthest armrest.

“Oh, come on,” Undyne says. One arm reaches out, pulling a reluctant Alphys back to the middle of the couch. “I’m just teasing.”

“Well, I don’t appreciate it.”

“I was just trying to be lighthearted,” Undyne sighs. She wraps her arms around her, pressing Alphys into her chest tightly. “Don’t be embarrassed about it. I thought it was really sweet.”

Alphys squirms out of her vice grip, moving so that their chests are flush against each other, her arms winding their way around Undyne’s waist, her chin resting lazily on her shoulder. “You really think so?”

“Well, yeah,” Undyne says breathily. “Knowing that you thinking about the two of us together, let alone writing about it.” Her heart beats wildly in her chest, her arms weak and shaky as they squeeze Alphys again. “It makes me really happy.”

“R-really?” Alphys says hopefully. “You don’t think it’s even a little weird?”

“Eh,” Undyne shrugs. “I’d be a dirty hypocrite if I thought writing things every day for your crush was weird.”

Alphys gasps, jumping away to look at Undyne with wide eyes. “Seriously?”

“Yo, that letter was hard to write, you know,” Undyne says, wringing her hands sheepishly. “I worked really hard on it.”

“Aw, Undyne,” Alphys gushes. She kisses Undyne on the cheek, and even after the months together she feels her skin burn with flustered heat. “That’s so sweet.”

“Not as sweet as some of the stuff you wrote in there,” Undyne muses, a wicked grin spreading on her face as Alphys blushes again, laughing, flustered in her inability to comprehend her praise or her own embarrassed pride in the book tucked against her stomach. “It almost makes me nervous that I’m not living up to your expectations.”

“W-what?!” Alphys cries. Her hands stutter above Undyne’s shoulders, uncertainly moving to try and give a tentative comfort. “Don’t say that! You’re wonderful!”

“You’ve made that very clear,” Undyne laughs, “especially with the way you’ve written me.”

“D-does the way I wrote it make you upset?” Alphys asks nervously. 

“Why would it?”

“I just-“ Alphys stutters. She bows her head, her hands fiddling with the corners of the few loose papers that threaten to spill from the journal’s pages. “I don’t want you to feel like, uh, like I don’t appreciate what we have now, b-because when I think of what I did write it doesn’t really resemble what we do have. B-but that’s okay! You know?” She looks up to Undyne almost pleadingly, as if searching for a form of reassurance, her own agreement. “Because what we have now is really great too!”

“You think so?” Undyne asks.

“O-o-of course!” Alphys exclaims.

“I’m glad,” Undyne hums. She wraps her arms around Alphys, pulling her down on top of her as she slowly lies back onto the couch. Alphys squeaks in delight, her hands moving to cover her mouth in her sheepishness. Undyne kisses the tip of her snout before letting her head fall. “I think so too,” she says to the ceiling, humming out a small tune of content as one hand trails its way up Alphys’ spine, bumping along each smooth, rigid scale, before settling on the back of her head, nudging it down gently to settle in the junction between her neck and shoulder. 

“Of course,” Undyne starts again as Alphys reached back for the remote again, “if there is something you feel like you’re terribly missing, I would be more than willing to take a few pointers from that diary of yours.”

“Undyne,” Alphys groans. “I said we’re fine.”

“I know,” she says. Her fingertips trail back down Alphys’ back again, grinning when she feels her shiver on top of her, the weight of her soft, bulky body warm and secure as it pins her to the sofa. “I just can’t help but be interested in what you thought we would be like. Together.”

“T-together,” Alphys sighs, her body relaxing, almost melting against Undyne. 

“Yeah,” Undyne says wistfully. 

“D-do you want to know that badly?”

“It would be nice.”

“Well, I, uh,” Alphys stammers. “I could read you some things. Only s-some of the better ones, though-“

“Really?” Undyne says, raising her head up.

“I-if you want to-“

“I’d love to!” Undyne says. “I mean, if you’re okay with that. I know it’s private, so you don’t have to force yourself.”

“Y-yeah, I’m okay,” Alphys says. “I don’t mind sharing, if listening to them makes you happy. And you have my permission.” She stresses the last word intentionally, earning herself a hearty eye roll in response. She shifts on top of her, pulling the book from between the two of them. She starts sifting through the pages, the cover obscuring her face, only the top of her glasses and her furrowed brow visible over the top edge of its pages. She mutters to herself, flipping each page one by one, humming deep contemplations as she makes her way through. “Which one did you find again?”

“A short one,” Undyne says. “We were cuddling in bed. Not too different from out gross domesticity now.”

“Ah, alright,” Alphys mutters. “Shame, I really liked that one, I would have chosen it.” Her sentence breaks off, tapering into quiet, unintelligible mumbling before she lets out a small cry of triumph. 

“I-I f-found one!” she exclaims breathlessly. She lifts the book above Undyne’s head, and she can feel the ridge of the spine digging into the skin of her scalp, the pages getting stuck in her hair as Alphys rustles through them. She shifts, raising herself up, her head beside Undyne’s, mouth right by her ear.

“Hm,” there’s a beat of silence as Undyne squeezes her reassuringly. “What’s it about?”

“It’s just a small thing,” Alphys breathes, “with the two of us moving in together.”

“Sounds nice,” Undyne hums, leaning her head back, closing her eyes against the dim glow of the television as it runs silently at the end of the room, forgotten. Her arm continues its rhythmic motion along Alphys’ back, smooth and gentle in their tranquility. She feels fingers run over her shoulder, a finger tentatively running through the tendrils of her hair, twisting a long lock from her ponytail.

“A-alright then.” Alphys clears her throat, her first words almost lost to her stutter before she is able to muster the few dregs of confidence she can. “ ‘It’s a s-stifling day, the h-h-heat off of H-Hotland c-carrying itself on a breeze towards Waterfall’s g-g-glistening waters.’ ” She swallows, her voice slowly growing stronger and clearer, even as it shakes in trepidation. “ ‘The trickling of beautiful streams c-can still be heard, e-even this far off from the maze of rivers and bridges that make up Waterfall’s beauty. To my right, the bright orange of Hotland’s warmth glows comfortly,’ – ah, dang, I don’t even think that’s a word – ‘To the left, the sky is dark, dots of tiny crystals decorating its stark blue-blackness. It is the best of both worlds here.’ “

“We’re still in the Underground in there,” Undyne muses quietly, sleepily; the dim of the room is beginning to claim her like it always does, her breathing growing slow and muscles falling slack as its calm washes through her. 

Alphys lets out a little giggle, pecking Undyne on the cheek. “I wrote this so long ago,” she laughs, “when I still thought the Underground could be a paradise. I couldn’t even dream of being up here, with you.”

“Hm.” Undyne grunts her agreement, returning the kiss to the soft, scaly skin of her neck. She whispers her words into her skin. “Keep reading.”

“O-okay.” She clears her throat again. “ ‘T-there is one thing that mars the usual landscape, overlooking the drawbridge that connects the two lands as it connects our two hearts’ – don’t laugh,” Alphys whines, making sure Undyne has bitten back the few giggles that threaten to bubble up from her throat before continuing. “Seriously, if you’re going to laugh I’m not going to keep going. I’ll just go back to my anime.”

“You’ve watched that season three times,” Undyne sighs.

“Don’t make me reach for the remote.”

“C’mon,” Undyne coaxes. “I didn’t mean to laugh. I thought it was really cute. Keep going.”

“Alright,” Alphys sighs heavily. Undyne feels a page turn above her head, getting stuck in her hair halfway through. 

“ ‘The marvelous brick statue towers over me, shining windows bright. I can’t help but feel it as intimidating, tall and grand, something that deserved better than a measly scientist scampering through its halls. But it won’t only be me in here.

“ ‘My heart leaps with joy, fingers tracing the cardboard boxes behind me that hold our belongings, memories from a life apart coming together as one. The house will not be empty for long, as soon our pictures will line the walls, our dishes sitting nicely in its cupboards and our voices echoing through its chambers. We will make our home here, and although it will be difficult at first, I’m looking forward to how great we will become together.

“ ‘My thoughts are interrupted as the box I am sitting on shifts under me. Letting out a small cry of delight, I turn around to see Undyne.’” She lets out a small huff of air through her nose at the sound of her name, arms giving Alphys another small squeeze. She smiles to herself giddily, feeling her body grow numb with her own shaky admiration as Alphys reads off her ardent praise. “ ‘She is tall and strong and beautiful as always as she hoists the box above her head with the power of just one arm. 

“ ‘“Come on, babe,” Undyne c-calls to me h-h-huskily’ – I swear to god Undyne, don’t you dare laugh – ‘hips swaying elegantly as she makes her way into our new home.

“ ‘I follow her, remembering each step I take, a new moment in our new life. She waits for me in the threshold, taking my hand as I stand beside her. She pulls me towards her, our bodies against each other as she kisses me. When she leans back to look at me, her eyes are bright, loving, and it is impossible to tell if there are tears of happiness in them through those of my own.’ ”

Her words ramble on, a soft, unsteady cadence in Undyne’s ear as she feels herself sink deeper into the pillows beneath her. Her hand moves to rest on the back of Alphys’ shoulder, her body growing still, calm like a current through her, pumped by the fretful beating of her love struck heart. She drinks in each word, each stutter and mumbled comment that brings their fictional ego in perspective of their found reality an awed reminder of it; there are no towering mansions, no sweeping and echoing hallways in their stuffy apartment overshadowed by distant skyscrapers, with no more unpacked boxes than to fill a closet. 

But the fictitious luxuries of Alphys’ recitation couldn’t mean less to the two of them now; they have simply found a home, found a new intimacy between the two of them that Undyne had only dreamed of being possible. There is more merit in the newfound enthusiasm the two share, the blooming confidence in Alphys’ step, growing just slightly bigger by the day but each a new opportunity, a grand celebration for her. There is more in the tangle of their sheets, the smell of her body lingering on the linen when Undyne pulls the covers over her chin on the bright, early mornings she would rather spend lounging in their mattress and leans over to press subtle kisses to Alphys’ neck. Each creaking floorboard and dent in the drywall is a freak accident that left the two howling with laughter, their petty arguments over who takes out the garbage and character interpretation over the newest anime Alphys had found stamped into the plain walls they pin each other against to grab stolen kisses and begin hearty passions. 

They are not where Alphys hoped they would be years from now; they’ve come together in the humblest of places but through the grandest of circumstances, the expectations for their life greater than Undyne thinks the two could have imagined. They’ve found themselves in a place they believed they would never live to see, discovered strange new places hand in hand. They’ve learned their intimacy that now, after so long, has grown to be familiar and safe, with fresh air in their lungs and the sun beating down on their skin. What was nothing more than the hopes written by meek, quiet hands has blossomed into a reality thought unobtainable. 

Undyne basks in this now, with cool air burning in her throat and Alphys’ body a secure weight on top of hers, feeling herself drift off. She allows herself to give an inkling of a grin with the last bits of her consciousness, amused of Alphys’ past wantings and musings, consoled by the comfort the superiority of their current life has proven itself to be. 

She feels herself grow numb, the world a blur around her. Warmth borders her from all sides, consuming her. She lets herself succumb to it, gratefully sinking into the softness below her, falling limp around the mass on top of her. There is nothing but the electronic hum of the television as it plays by them silently, alight with colour that flickers over the room and barely shines through Undyne’s eyelids, and the lilt of Alphys’ voice, her quiet words melding into one soft harmony.

“Undyne,” the lilt rises in volume, her name barely coherent through her fog of drowsiness. “Undyne!” It calls to her again, louder, a hand reaching for her to pull her from under the depths of unconsciousness. She reluctantly rises from it, a startled diver dazzled as their head rises about the surface.

“Hm?” she hums. Her mind is groggy, only aware of the voice in her ear, the familiar body beside her.

“If you’re going to fall asleep, I’m going to stop reading.” Alphys’ voice is low, quiet, as if she were fretful of waking her from the near slumber she had just disturbed. There is laughter in it, the smallest titter of glee as Undyne yawns, one arm moving up to rub at her eye through her eye patch.

“’M awake,” Undyne grumbles, settling back into the cushions behind her. She pulls Alphys to her, pressing their cheeks against each other as she grunts in contentment, nuzzling against her. She shifts to kiss her temple, feels her breath hitch against the gills of her neck. “Keep reading.”

“Doesn’t look like it,” Alphys teases.

“I was awake, I promise,” Undyne groans.

“Oh yeah? Which part were we on?”

Undyne yawns, closing her eyes to the gawky colours flashing through the room. “The part where you pick me up n' spin me aroun’ over the threshold.”

“That’s not even part of the story, silly,” Alphys laughs. Undyne feels soft lips against her cheek, the smooth hardness of teeth gently grazing her skin.

“Should be,” Undyne muses, turning to meet the kiss with her own lips. It is a mess of fumbling teeth and sleepy giggles, a bump of their two faces, rubbing against each other. “You should write it in.”

“Alright,” Alphys laughs. “Now stay awake.” 

Undyne hears a page flip. Alphys’ voice begins its recitation again, no more than a breath beside her, as if afraid to disrupt her, contradicting her previous demand. Their bodies settle against each other again, puzzle pieces forcing themselves together into a snug fit, Undyne submitting herself to the calm that sends her to sleep.

The lilt begins to dissipate; whether it is from the blur of her own fuzzy mind or from Alphys slowly tapering off, she can’t tell. There are only the fingers running through her hair, tenderly winding under the string that holds her eye patch in place, a pair of lips lingering over the marred skin underneath with gentle love, a new flurry of noise as the weight on top of her dissipates, replaced by a sheet cocooning her in the couch, and a sigh of satisfaction on her lips as she lets herself drift off again, awaiting the ritual of morning and a life void of regret.

**Author's Note:**

> God I hate writing people dictating written text. This is quotation mark hell. 
> 
> Also first time writing for Undertale can I get a hell yeah.


End file.
